Poveglia_Broadening the Urban Territory of Venice

This project emphasizes on reactivating one of the islands that the Venetian Lagoon consists of, named Poveglia. In the consciousness of the Venetians, Poveglia is considered a "haunted" place because of its history and desolation. Ensuring the organization of an urban environment and linking it to the mythical city of Venice are two things to focus on.

Given that the city of Venice consists of 118 islands, each island is Venice’s urban defining form. The way in which I conceive the city of Venice is as an archipelago. The islands obey different rules of the urban form and operate under the terms of autonomy. Poveglia as an autonomous entity could play a role in this network. The proposal for the island could be described as a system for housing, education and culture. According to the architectural program proposed, the island is to provide houses for students, commuters, citizens and visitors of Venice in general. To do so, apart from the housing needs, a lot of other needs are to be covered such as a small market and courtyards. Some kind of a masterplan was conducted that refers to housing (accommodation and some main necessary facilities) as the general use and some other secondary uses. Speaking of the secondary uses, Poveglia should participate in a wide network consisted of the university island (San Servolo), many centers of education, Lido’s facilities for Venice Film Festival, the Giardini and the Arsenale which are dedicated to the Biennale, by providing spaces such as classrooms, workshops, squares, projection rooms, multipurpose rooms and spaces with public interest in general. To do so, a three storey cruciform building and a one storey structure (like a grid) were proposed. These two structures operate as a system and their intersection points are of high importance. The main grid that organizes the masterplan matches with the existing structures (most of the historical buildings are to be reused) and addresses the transformation of a wide range of public spaces. Furthermore, the cruciform building operates as a background of the island. Both the reflection and refraction caused by its surfaces add on to the theatrical atmosphere of the island. The orientation of cruciform plan is responsible for the entrance to the island, views to Venice and the exploitation of the sun.